The Vincent Boys Collection
Page 42
Beau was planning to propose to Ashton during the SEC championship game that year. The Florida Gators and the Crimson Tide would face off one more time this season. Other than us, no one else had been able to touch Bama that year. The plan was to have our parents there, even Aunt Honey, when Bama faced the Gators in the SEC game. “Will you marry me, Ashton Sutley Gray?” would be flashed on the big screen in the last quarter when only one minute was left in the game.
I’d had to listen to hours of Beau’s planning and scheming. He wanted it to be just right.
I reached over and picked up Lana’s left hand to kiss the marquis cut diamond that now rested on her ring finger. Our engagement, last month, hadn’t been quite as big of a production, although it had made the ten o’clock news. After winning my first game as the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators, I’d bypassed all the media vying for my attention and gone straight to Lana as she made her way to me. The offensive line assistant coach had kept the ring tucked safely in his pocket during the game, but he’d placed it in my hand once the game was over. She ran into my arms like she always did after a game, but this time, instead of picking her up, I dropped to one knee. I’ll never forget the look on her face or the way she sounded when she’d said, “Yes.”
No longer was it me, Beau, and Ash against the world.
I had Lana, and she was the number-one player on my team.
Five years later . . .
Sawyer and Lana – The Wedding
SAWYER
“Sawyer!” Lana squealed as I crawled into the window of my mother’s sitting room. “You are not supposed to see me before the wedding. It’s bad luck.” The frown in her eyes didn’t mask the excited tone in her voice.
I closed the window behind me, then turned around to take in the sight of my incredibly gorgeous bride. Her long red hair had been curled, causing ringlets to cascade loosely down her back. The white dress she wore was simple and elegant. It also hugged her every curve, and my mind instantly went to later tonight when I would be the lucky man taking it off.
Closing the distance between us, I placed a hand possessively on her hip and pulled her up against me, careful not to wrinkle her dress or my shirt. Not that I cared but I knew she would. “It’s my wedding day. I’m making new rules. Besides, the not seeing the bride thing sucks. I couldn’t go another minute without seeing those pretty eyes.”
Her stern expression instantly melted and she smiled up at me. “A girl can’t exactly argue with that logic,” she purred, and stood on her tiptoes to press her lips gently against mine. One small, sweet peck before she moved back. “We can’t mess up my makeup. Ash spent over an hour on it. She’ll be upset if we smudge anything.”
Ash was the last concern on my mind. Right now I just wanted my wife. Pausing, I stared down at her and let that one word sink in . . . wife. Lana would be my wife in an hour’s time. How had I managed this? God knows I don’t deserve her.
Reaching out, I tucked a lone curl behind her ear and gently ran my thumb over the diamond teardrop earrings I’d bought her for her birthday last year. She was the most precious thing in my life, and once I’d almost let her slip right through my fingers.
“Sawyer, you have to go,” she urged, placing her hands on my chest and pushing me gently.
“I’m going. But first—” I paused and reached into my pocket and pulled out a letter that I’d kept close for five years—“I want to read you something.”
Lana’s eyes found the familiar letter in my hand and she frowned. I knew she recognized it. She’d written it, after all. But she didn’t know I still had it tucked safely away all these years.
“What are you doing with that letter?” she asked nervously. I knew it didn’t hold fond memories for her. She’d been hurting and broken when she’d written the words I’d memorized.
“The day I read this letter, I changed. Completely. Not because I’d finally realized that I was in love with you. Not because I had caused you pain. I changed because I knew in that moment that you had become my number one. Nothing else mattered if I didn’t have you.”
I started to say more, but Lana grabbed the lapels of my tuxedo and pulled me down to her. All thoughts of her makeup were gone as her soft lips pressed hungrily against mine. One tiny swipe of her tongue against my bottom lip and I decided I wasn’t real concerned about wrinkling our clothes.
LANA
“What’re y’all doing?” Ashton’s horrified voice broke me out of my needy haze. I quickly stepped back from Sawyer’s arms and spun around to face my maid of honor.
“We, uh, well, we were, uh . . . ” I stammered nervously.
“They were sucking face,” Catherine announced as she flounced into the room smiling like a Cheshire cat.
Sawyer chuckled at his little sister’s remark and I had to fight to keep from grinning. Ashton didn’t look at all amused by the situation.
“You’ve messed up your lipstick. Sawyer, get out of here before I go get your mama!” Ashton scolded, and stalked toward me looking like a fairy princess in her pale pink dress and head full of bouncing blond curls.
“Relax, Ash. I’m leaving. I just needed to see my girl. You know, make sure she was still going to come walking down that aisle to make me the luckiest man on the damn planet.”
“I think I may puke,” Catherine chimed in from her perch on the settee.
Catherine and Cade hadn’t been around the summer Sawyer and I got together. They’d gone to spend six weeks with their grandmother. It had been an adjustment getting to know Sawyer’s large family. It had always just been me and my parents, and then my dad had left and it had just been me and mom.
“She will make it down the aisle. I promise. Now go!” Ashton demanded, and Sawyer winked at me before turning and leaving the room via the door this time.
“I swear you two are so difficult. The rules are—”
“I’m marrying Sawyer, Ashton. Let’s not worry about the rules.” I interrupted her. The frustrated frown disappeared and a small smile took its place.
“I’m so happy for you two,” she replied as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“Don’t make me cry. You’ve already gotta fix my lipstick. You don’t want to have to fix my eyes too, do you?”
Shaking her head, Ashton grabbed my hand and led me over to the chair where I’d sat for over an hour while she fixed my face the first time. “I’m going to fix you up this time and you keep those lips off Sawyer until you say ‘I do.’ ”
White lights covered every tree branch in the Vincent’s backyard. A hundred white chairs were lined up with simple white bows tied on the back of each one. Pink roses petals covered the path in front of me leading to Sawyer. The song “Forever” by Ben Harper began playing over the speakers. That was my cue. I smiled up at my uncle as he held his arm out for me to take.
“I can’t believe I’m giving both you girls away to a Vincent boy in one year’s time.” He chuckled softly. I turned my gaze back to the arbor covered in white lights where Sawyer stood waiting on me. His dark hair curled around the white collar of his shirt. His beautiful green eyes twinkled with pleasure as they centered on me. He was waiting for me. It was time for us to start our forever.
Beau and Ashton – The Wedding
BEAU
Who was that guy? And how the hell had he managed to get here? Reaching up, I tugged at my stiff white linen collar and took a deep breath. The more I thought about what all could go wrong, the harder it became to breathe.
“You’re gonna have to get it together, man. She isn’t going to bolt. The girl loves you, crazy insane loves you. What about that don’t you get?” Sawyer’s amused tone matched the smirk on his face.
Our eyes met in the mirror as he stood behind me. I wanted to believe he was right. But damn if that wasn’t hard. Since the moment Ashton had stood up in the stands and screamed, “Yes!” at the top of her lungs at the SEC championship game last year, I’d been waiting for the reality of her decision
to sink in.
She was marrying me, Beau Vincent. I knew she could do so much better, but dammit, I didn’t want her to realize it. Every passing day since the moment I slid that diamond ring on her finger, I’d been waiting for this fairytale to end. Life had always jerked the rug out from under me when things had been good. Now that things were about as damn perfect as they could get, would it happen again?
“I’m not good enough for her.” Saying the words aloud made me feel sick.
Sawyer’s smirk melted into a scowl. “Says who? Cause I can damn well assure you that ain’t the truth. No one will ever love her as much as you do and Ashton Gray has loved you since we were kids. You know bro, cold feet is supposed to be the groom worrying that he is making a bad decision. Not the groom thinking she is making the wrong decision.”
Shaking my head, I turned away from my reflection and focused my attention out the window of the beach house my dad had rented for the occasion. Ashton had said she wanted a wedding on the beach and my dad had made sure she had a prime location. I’d been so damn proud the day I’d brought her here to show her. She’d squealed and clapped her hands as she ran out onto the white sandy shore.
If I’d still held any bitterness toward my dad, it had all melted away the moment Ashton twirled around in the sand with excitement, proclaiming that this was the perfect spot for our wedding. He’d made Ashton happy. He was forgiven.
“Lana said she looks gorgeous and she’s deliriously happy. Stop worrying. This is the day you finally make Ashton Gray completely yours.”
The simplistic beauty of the decorations were so Ashton. She’d said she wanted to complement the natural beauty of the location, not overtake it with other things. Everything was perfect, just like her. And she’d chose me.
“Why me? She could have had you. Why did she choose me?”
Sawyer chuckled behind me and I glanced back over my shoulder to see him grinning. “That’s a question that haunted me once. I couldn’t figure it out either. I mean, I am a pretty damn good catch.” He shrugged and slapped me on the back. “You’re her other half. Not me. Never was me. I have my other half now. I know what that feels like. She just found hers before I found mine.”
“What was God thinking making someone like me Ashton’s other half?”
“He was thinking she deserved someone who would love her no matter what,” Sawyer replied. The conviction in his voice eased my fear somewhat.
“I’ll love her until the day I die. She really is my world.”
Sawyer nodded, “Figured that out the day you chose her over me.”
My lips curved up into a grin, “Yeah, I guess you did.”
ASHTON
“Okay girl, this is it,” Lana whispered, reaching down to squeeze my hand tightly.
“I can’t believe it’s almost time,” I replied, staring straight ahead at the door leading out onto the beach. The groomsmen had all followed Beau outside while I’d stayed hidden upstairs. I didn’t have to look outside to know that to the right of Beau stood Sawyer, his best man. Then Harris Vincent stood beside his oldest son. After Harris stood Ethan and then Jake.
Lana had brought me downstairs before the bridesmaids had made their way out the door so they could all wish me luck. Lana was my maid of honor. Beside her, Leann would be waiting up front. Then Jessica and my roommate from college, Crystal.
“You are absolutely stunning. No bride has ever been this gorgeous in the history of the world.” Lana beamed at me before stepping up to the door and blowing me a kiss as she walked outside.
“She’s right, you know. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a lovelier bride.” The emotion in my dad’s voice caused my eyes to tear up.
“Daddy, please don’t make me cry.”
He held out his elbow for me to take. “Never. Think of them all in their underwear. I hear that helps.”
A startled laugh quickly dried my tears and I turned to look up him. “That is what you’re supposed to do when you’re nervous,” I told him.
He grinned. “It worked, didn’t it?”
I squeezed his arm. “Yes, it did.”
“Let’s do this, baby girl. That boy looked so scared before he walked down the aisle I thought he might break free and run upstairs to make sure you were still there. No need to leave him waiting. He may tear the place up coming in here after you.”
Giggling at my father’s very accurate description of my future husband, I nodded and we stepped up to the door. Taking a deep breath, I followed him out into the perfect light of the setting sun.
The moment my bare feet touched the cooling sand, I lifted my gaze to find Beau. The awe and relief on his face as I made my way slowly toward him sent my heart into a wild frenzy. Being near him still made me light-headed. I doubted that would ever go away.
His perfect mouth moved and I read his lips as he said, “I love you.”
The world around me faded away. All that was left was me and Beau—my past, my present, and my future.
ABBI GLINES is the author of The Vincent Boys and The Vincent Brothers in addition to several other YA novels. A devoted book lover, Abbi lives with her family in Alabama. She maintains a Twitter addiction at @abbiglines and can also be found at AbbiGlines.com.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition October 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Abbi Glines
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Designed by Mike Rosamilia
Jacket Designed by Jessica Handelman
Jacket Photograph Copyright © 2012 by Michael Frost
Author Photo by Keith Glines
The text of this book was set in Adobe Caslon Pro.
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This book has been cataloged with the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4424-8526-6 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8525-9 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4424-8654-6 (eBook)
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
First Simon Pulse paperback edition December 2012
Copyright © 2011 by Abbi Glines
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bsp; All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Mike Rosamilia
Jacket Designed by Jessica Handelman
Jacket Photograph Copyright © 2012 by Michael Frost
Author Photo by Keith Glines
ISBN 978-1-4424-8665-2 (eBook)